1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boat propulsion system and a boat including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is known a boat propulsion system provided with a shift mechanism of an electronic control type operated by a remote controller having a remote control lever. The boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of the electronic control type operated by the remote controller needs to be provided with a position sensor disposed in the remote controller in relation to the remote control lever, for example, as described in JP-A-2007-246014. The position sensor detects a position of the remote control lever. The position sensor outputs the position of the remote control lever as a shift position signal. An ECU (electronic control unit) provided with the boat propulsion system controls the shift mechanism on the basis of the shift position signal.
There is also a boat propulsion system provided with a shift mechanism of a mechanical type. Here, the shift mechanism of the mechanical type refers to a shift mechanism in which a shift position of the shift mechanism is directly operated by a wire that moves as a result of the remote control lever being operated by an operator. There may be a case where it is necessary to satisfy a request that the boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of a mechanical type is replaced by a boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of an electronic control type.
For example, when replacement is performed with a conventional boat propulsion system provided with a shift mechanism of the electronic control type, it is difficult to use a remote controller for the boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of a mechanical type even after the replacement. Normally, it becomes necessary to replace the remote controller for the boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of a mechanical type with a remote controller having a position sensor. Therefore, there is a problem of a large cost to replace the boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of the mechanical type with a boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of the electronic control type.